Arf!
Shaggy wagged its tail and dropped a rabbit corpse on the ground as it rolled before Minhua, flashing its belly up as it drooped its tongue, happy to be in such a warm climate with plenty of food to hunt around.
"That's enough, Shaggy. Good boy!" Minhua rubbed its belly and prepared a small fire to roast some rabbit meat that she and Shaggy relished with joy. After eating canned food for a while, it enlivened her taste buds, especially thanks to the herbs that she added to the meat that enhanced its flavour.
While they were eating, a crocodile walked out of the lake and opened its mouth on the shore, basking in the sunlight. Though, from time to time, its attention seemed to fall on Minhua.
Soon, it began to slowly walk towards her. Minhua didn't seem to notice its approach and continued to eat the rabbit meat.
When it was just four metres from her seated position, Shaggy suddenly grabbed a rope and tugged it. On the other end of the rope was a noose buried within the sand that coiled around the crocodile's jaws when tugged. And with slight tension, the noose tightened.
The crocodile was flustered for a moment when Minhua grabbed the rope and pulled it with Shaggy, tugging the crocodile a bit forward when the sand caved in, causing it to fall into a shallow pit.
The crocodile struggled to get out, failing repeatedly as Shaggy kept tugging the rope to make it lose balance.
In the meantime, Minhua rushed forth and removed a large banana leaf that acted as a cover for a pit dug in the sand farther away. Within it were dozens of rabbit corpses. She took a rabbit and threw it towards the edge of the lake, watching its blood leak into it.
A few seconds later, a crocodile swallowed the rabbit and came ashore, followed by dozens of crocodiles lured in by the scent of blood. They arrived at the pit and began to attempt to take out the rabbits which were placed just a bit beyond their reach.
Over time, a crowd of crocodiles arrived at the shore and congregated around the pit, for the scent of blood oozing from there was very strong.
While the crocodiles were busy, Minhua tugged the rope and brought the first captured crocodile from the pit. After a few minutes of struggle, she managed to sling a hoop around its tail, tying it to a thick wood that she scoured in the forest.
Shaggy bit onto one end of the rope—which Minhua created by coiling around the secondary roots of a banyan tree—and entered the lake. Tied in its mid-section, closer to the crocodile's snout were three rabbits.
They acted as bait to draw in the crocodile while Shaggy continued to tug the rope, pulling it forward. The crocodile entered the lake, pulling another rope tied to its tail.
[Constellation Live-Grenade is hyped]
Minhua grunted and pushed the wood branch into the lake, watching it being pulled by the crocodile. She used it as a lifeboat and slowly paddled, able to traverse the waters faster and with less strain.
She proceeded forward from a point far away from the pit where the crocodiles had congregated at. Thanks to her actions, the lake seemed safe enough for her to traverse.
[Constellation Vroom-Vroom cheers while blushing]
And within a minute, thanks to Shaggy leading the crocodile by the nose, they reached the island. The rope had worn out by now as after the crocodile brushed its jaws on some rocks, it snapped.
Thanks to that, it was able to feast on the three rabbits. Though Minhua was exhausted, she didn't take any risks remaining near the crocodile that was now freed from its binds, "Come, Shaggy."
With that, the duo reached the tower as immediately, a bunch of screens flashed before Minhua, surprising her.
[Constellation …]
[Constellation …]
[Congratulations on passing the tutorial. Rewarding based on user actions]
<Ding!>
[Awarded Title: Old Lady Still Has Spunk (+10 Battle Power, +5 Recovery)]
<Ding!>
[Class Received: Tamer (+10 Magic Power, Increased Affinity to all creatures)]
[Skill Received: Tame]
[Skill Received: Command]
[Skill Received: Affinity Inspect]
[Creating Unique Skill…]
[Unique Skill Created: Monster Database (Can store all tamed creatures in a database) (Current capacity: 4)]
A book manifested before her, one consisting of only four pages. The book furled to the first page as immediately, Shaggy turned into a beam of light and entered it, becoming an image imprinted there.
"Sha…" Right as Minhua shouted in shock, all knowledge regarding her Class streamed into her, automatically calming her down.
Minhua touched the page and watched Shaggy appear beside her, sighing in relief. Following that, she stared at the crocodile, muttering after a moment of consideration as she stealthily touched its tail, "Tame!"
The crocodile's resistance was instantly overcome as all her Magic Power was consumed. Immediately, it turned into a beam of light and entered her book, imprinted on her second page.
[Congratulations! You now have gained the qualification to challenge the Tower of Acknowledgement! Activating Inventory…]
Minhua found herself on the first floor of the Tower of Acknowledgement, a medieval-styled city that was constructed to house a capacity of six million humans. The moment she arrived, messages rang nonstop in her mind.
[Constellation Live-Grenade has donated 12 Acknowledgement Coins]
[Constellation Broken-Phone has donated 3 Acknowledgement Coins]
[Constellation …]
[Constellation …]
Minhua observed that some people seemed to have arrived at the first floor of the tower long ago. It was strange, slightly unnerving even, but it was something she welcomed. Even having to fight monsters seemed vastly easy and doable when compared to surviving in the nuclear winter.
Carrying her book, Minhua walked through the streets, admiring the city's peaceful scenery when a confident teen stared at her incredulously, muttering, "Granny, how did you finish the tutorial?"
"By hitching a ride on a crocodile." Minhua smiled as she pinched his cheek.
For a moment, the teenager was offended, but after being reminded of the fact that no one else even bothered to care for him for the past three years, his gaze softened, being reminded of his grandmother that died to a shell.
He was an orphan.
"Were you injured by them?" Minhua stared at him in concern and inspected him for any injuries.
"It's fine, haha. I bought a healing potion with the coins I earned and my injuries were fully healed." The teenager then stared at her book, "Why are you carrying that? You can put it in your inventory and be free, you know?"
"Inventory?" Minhua tilted her head in confusion.
"Let me teach you, grandma."
